Violence against women violates fundamental human rights and is an
affront to women's inherent human dignity. Physical, psychological,
and sexual violence against women and girls, public and private,
plagues all societies and classes and poses tremendous obstacles to
the achievement of equality, development and peace. Governments
have the obligation not to engage in any form of violence against
women and to prevent violence against women wherever it occurs.

The Human Rights at Issue

Human rights relating to violence against women are set out in basic
human rights treaties and include:

The human right to life.

The human right to full respect for human dignity.

The human right not to be subjected to torture or other
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

The human right to the highest attainable standard of
physical and mental health.

The human right to freedom from discrimination and
violence, public or private, due to any status, including gender,
race, ethnicity or age.

The human right to full equality between women and men.

The human right to full equality between women and men
in power and decision-making.

The human right to freedom from sexual abuse, physical
abuse, and psychological violence.

The human right to a workplace free from violence and
abuse.

The human right to freedom from dowry-related violence.

The human right to freedom from marital rape.

The human right to freedom from female genital mutilation
and other traditional practices harmful to women.

The human right to freedom from all harmful customary
practices.

The human right to freedom from trafficking and forced
prostitution.

The human right to freedom from violence associated with
armed conflict, including murder, systematic rape, sexual
slavery, and forced pregnancy.

The human right to freedom from forced sterilization and
forced abortion.

The human right to freedom from coercive use of
contraceptives.

The human right to freedom from female infanticide.

The human right to freedom from prenatal sex selection.

The human right to equal access to justice, equal protection
of the law, and effective remedies for victims of violence.

The human right to access to services, including physical and
mental health services.

"States Parties condemn discrimination against women in all its
forms, agree to pursue ... a policy of eliminating discrimination
against women and ... undertake: ... to adopt legislative and other
measures ... prohibiting all discrimination against women; to establish
legal protection of the rights of women ... and to ensure ... the
effective protection of women against any act of discrimination.... to
take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against
women by any person, organization or enterprise; to take all
appropriate measures ... to modify or abolish existing laws,
regulations, customs and practices which constitute discrimination
against women.... States Parties shall take all appropriate measures
to modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and
women, with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudices and
customary and all other practices which are based on the idea of the
inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped
roles for men and women.... States Parties shall take all appropriate
measures ... to suppress all forms of traffic in women and
exploitation of prostitution of women.... States Parties shall accord to
women equality with men before the law.... States Parties shall take
all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women
in all matters relating to marriage and family relations...."

"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and
rights.... Everyone is entitled to all rights ... without distinction of any
kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other
opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status....
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.... No
one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade
shall be prohibited in all their forms.... No one shall be subjected to
torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment....
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any
discrimination to equal protection of the law.... Everyone has the
right to an effective remedy ... for acts violating ... fundamental
rights.... Men and women ... are entitled to equal rights as to
marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution...."

"... 'torture' means any act by which severe pain or suffering,
whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for
such purposes as ... intimidating or coercing him ... or for any reason
based on discrimination of any kind.... Each State Party shall take
effective ... measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory
under its jurisdiction.... Each State Party shall undertake to prevent
... other acts of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment...."

"Each State Party ... undertakes to respect and to ensure to all
individuals ... rights ... without distinction of any kind, such as race,
colour, sex, language ... or other status.... The States Parties ...
undertake to ensure the equal right of men and women to the
enjoyment of all civil and political rights.... Every human being has
the inherent right to life.... No one shall be subjected to torture or to
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.... No one shall
be held in slavery; slavery and the slave-trade in all their forms
shall be prohibited.... Everyone has the right to liberty and security
of person.... States Parties ... shall take appropriate steps to ensure
equality of rights ... of spouses as to marriage, during marriage and at
its dissolution.... All persons are equal before the law and are
entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law...."

"The States Parties ... undertake to ensure the equal right of men
and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural
rights.... The States Parties ... recognize the right of everyone to the
enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental
health...."

"... genocide ... is a crime under international law which [Parties]
undertake to prevent and to punish.... [G]enocide means any of the
following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a
national, ethnical, racial or religious groups, as such: killing members
of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of
the group; ... imposing measures intended to prevent births within
the group...."

"States Parties shall respect and ensure ... rights ... to each child ...
without discrimination of any kind irrespective of the child's or his
or her parent's ... race, colour, sex, language, religion, ... national,
ethnic or social origin ... or other status.... In all actions concerning
children ... the best interests of the child shall be a primary
consideration. States Parties undertake to ensure the child such
protection and care as is necessary for ... well-being.... States Parties
recognize that every child has the inherent right to life.... States
Parties shall take all appropriate ... measures to protect the child
from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, ...
maltreatment or exploitation including sexual abuse.... States Parties
undertake to protect the child from all forms of sexual exploitation
and sexual abuse.... shall take all ... measures to prevent the
abduction, sale of or traffic in children.... shall ensure that ... no child
shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment.... shall take all appropriate measures to
promote physical and psychological recovery ... of a child victim of:
any form of ... exploitation, or abuse; torture or any other form of
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; or armed
conflicts...."